The Oar House — Restaurant in Pensacola

I went here for the first time on Friday, April 18 around 8-9pm. The location was nice on the water. The hostess was nice when she set us. The waitress was very cold and dismissive. She came over one time and with a zero smile she said, what would you like to order. No greeting no small talk no smile no personality. That would’ve been fine except the food was awful. We ordered two things a shrimp appetizer bang bang shrimp and a fried shrimp basket for $20 for the basket. Having never been here before I was really surprised that they would even take the time to serve this food being that it’s competitive to eat in the area and there’s lots of restaurant choices. The food tasted like cheap frozen food out of a bag or something from Long John Silver’s. The bang bang shrimp was just tiny fried cheap poor quality pre-breaded and just lacked any type of quality or taste. I would expect to get something like this out of a bag in a drive-through. Then the next item of the entrée was the basket of shrimp and fries, and it was just as poor. The shrimp pretty much tasted like it was the same shrimp except it didn’t have a sauce port all over it and it was fried tiny shrimp. It looks like something that would’ve came out of a kids meal. I would expect this to get this out of the drive-through or in a bag something I grew up with like fish sticks. It was shrimp, but it was just really small Pieces of shrimp and it just seemed very pre-breaded in a factory and then fried along with some cold bagged up frozen then fried French fries. Given the potential for the location, I would think that it wouldn’t take that much more effort to prepare some fresh food and to serve some items that were a little bit more appealing even if you need to use frozen food I’m sure there’s better food vendors than the cheapest lowest quality ones that...

Oar House has gone down hill..

We come here about 10 times a year. It’s always underwhelming with a long wait but the scenery is nice being on the water and the kids can look at the fish- food prices are overpriced for the quality, but not breaking the bank. Came after 3pm to avoid a wait. We were still told we had a 30 minute wait even though half the restaurant empty. Half the parking lot was empty. We were the only people in line being told to wait. There were 4 hostesses sitting around. After we got sat we watched for 15 minutes as waitresses walked past us looking directly at us, before avoiding us. We decided to leave, which isn’t the reason for this post. Coming from the restaurant industry I wanted to communicate the issue before we left so the managers could train and do better so maybe there was a chance Oar House could get better for our future visits.. I told my kids and wife to go to the car, and asked one of the 4 hostesses if I could speak to a manager. They couldn’t find them and I saw one of the girls walk out to the building near the parking lot about 50 yards away and open a door and start talking to someone. The person I believe was a manager looked out the door and saw me see them, and waved for the girl to shut the door and they stayed in the building. Eventually someone I assumed was a cook from the kitchen came out and asked what I needed and I explained the situation, he asked where we sat before he mumbled that they we just busy as he turned and stopped looking at me.

This place has gone down hill dramatically throughout my life. It’s a let down and unfortunate that we have to give our business to Fish House going forward as they are a bit higher in prices.

We have told many people about this, and will continue to do so.

Thank the manager who hid in the outhouse...

We decided to hold our office holiday dinner at The Oar House. Despite our large party size, the staff was more than able to accommodate us.

The service was excellent! The server took good care of us, being easy to spot and quick to answer when called yet unobtrusive. She responded quickly to orders & requests and empty plates & glasses seemed to vanish into thin air while drink refills appeared as if by magic without having to be requested.

The meal was very enjoyable. I had an Oar salad to start. The veggies were very crisp & fresh. I followed that with the grilled mahi-mahi platter. The fish was well-seasoned, tender, flaky and hot. The sides were good, especially the coleslaw. I finished with a delicious slice of key lime pie. Everything arrived at our table in excellent time.

The atmosphere was great. The Oar House is really built to capitalize on summer weather, but managed to keep us comfortable despite the winter chill. It was a bit cool, but we kept our coats & jackets on, which I sort of preferred to having to hang mine on the back of my chair and constantly worry about it falling off. The holiday decor was tasteful and not overpowering. My favorite thing was not being blasted by a constant barrage of holiday tunes. I enjoy them, but this time of year they start to wear thin. There were just enough festive tunes sprinkled in. The view of the marina was lovely, especially since some of the boats had been decked out in lights for the season.

Overall, i was very pleased and look forward to taking the family there as soon...